The Reserve Retreat - Sarasota

The server had too many tables to manage, which led to an extremely long wait time. I received my order an hour and 15 minutes after I arrived. It took her 45 minutes just to take my order, and then another half an hour for the food to be delivered. I didn't mind too much, though, as I was captivated by the live jazz music and even recorded some of it, which is why I was aware of the time. Unfortunately, when my entrée finally arrived, I had no utensils to eat with. The dish looked and smelled delicious. After about 10 or 15 minutes, the server finally checked back and pointed the finger at the food runner. The manager, who appeared later, did the same. I found that quite disappointing.

The building is beautiful, and the service was both friendly and efficient. The home fries were served hot and crispy, but unfortunately, my eggs Benedict were only lukewarm. They would have been fantastic if they had been hot. The portion sizes were generous. While everything was good, nothing stood out as exceptional, so I’m not sure I would return. However, I might consider trying dinner there due to the convenient location and the charming historic building.

This restaurant is located in a charming historic house, which was once the original home of the Ringling family. It's a pleasant setting with convenient parking options for downtown, making it a great choice if you're attending a show at the Van Wezel. However, the menu is somewhat limited and feels outdated. The service was a bit inexperienced; we were served cold cappuccinos and had to wait quite a while for the check, even though the restaurant wasn't busy. Overall, our experience was just average. There are so many better dining options to explore in Sarasota.

One of my top 3 places to have a meal, especially brunch and dinner. Service is wonderful and the food is soooooo good.

Soup and sandwich (blt) was great. Friend had the ahi tuna which she said was terrific.